Thursday, February 21, 2013

Rich People Who Feared Giving Their Children Money

Everyone's always jealous of the kid with the rich
parents, but being born rich isn't always a ticket to wealth. After all,
not all rich people want to leave piles of money to their children.

And why not? They fear large sums of money will spoil their offspring and ruin their work ethic. They may have a point.

After
all, Kim Kardashian and In-N-Out Burger owner Lynsi Torres, both of
whom had rich parents growing up, don't sport college degrees. But they
sure are successful. Really, really successful.

So who is the exception and what is the rule?

Bill GatesMicrosoft
founder Bill Gates, the world's second-richest man, told The Sun in
2010 that he will donate most of his money to charity and "give the kids
some money but not a meaningful percentage." He said on Reddit in
February: "I definitely think leaving kids massive amounts of money is
not a favor to them."

Warren BuffettBillionaire
investor Warren Buffett plans to donate most of his fortune to charity.
Peter Buffett, Buffett's second-oldest son, told DailyFinance in 2011
that his father "transferred values to me, and not wealth."

Ted TurnerCNN
founder Ted Turner, who has donated $1 billion to the United Nations,
doesn't have much money left for his kids. He told MSNBC in 2010 that he
is "almost to the edge of poverty" -- that is, his net worth is only $2
billion, according to Forbes.

Steve JobsSteve Jobs,
the late Apple CEO who revitalized the company, said in an interview
with Playboy in 1985: "If you die, you certainly don’t want to leave a
large amount to your children. It will just ruin their lives."

George LucasGeorge
Lucas, the writer-director behind the Star Wars series, doesn't plan to
leave much money for his kids; he is giving most of it to charity. He
wrote in a pledge letter that he is "dedicating the majority of [his]
wealth to improving education" because "it is the key to the survival of
the human race," according to The Wall Street Journal.

Graham TuckwellGraham
Tuckwell, the founder and chairman of ETF Securities, who has donated
$50 million to Australian National University for scholarships, told the
Sydney Daily Telegraph he does not plan to give much money to his kids
because "lots of money is poisonous to have." "If you just give them
stuff, it almost destroys their desire to do things and you actually end
up with kids who are a lot worse off." (Hat tip: CNBC.)

Steven HayworthSteven
Hayworth, ex-CEO of Gibraltar Private Bank, told the New York Times in
2010 that he was glad his daughter was going to work at a clothing store
that summer because he wanted her to learn "the value of a dollar."